GENERAL INTRODUCTION 17 



proceed cautiously and do not become over-confident Colled first 



in meadows, pastures and open grounds away from thickets and 

 woods. Always take every part of a mushroom of which you wish 



to make a Btudy. As soon as you have advanced sufficiently to be 

 able to recognize different kinds always wrap up the species sepa- 

 rately. It' you are learning how to identify by means of this book, 



it will be well to run down and compare the description after i>\i-i-\ 



collecting trip so as to become versed in the meaning of terms and 



also as a check on the correctness of your own or others' opinions. 



Avoid the genus Amanita. Also at the first avoid anything that 

 appears to belong to the genera Kntoloma, Tricholoma, Heheloma 

 and Inocybe. Avoid all which are no longer fresh and firm, or 

 which have small burrows due to grubs. Avoid the large, colored 

 forms until you are well advanced in the subject. All except 

 Amanitas may be tasted without swallowing with entire safety; 

 avoid all that have a powerful peppery or nauseous taste. Dr. 

 Peck states that he has always found those with a taste of fresh 

 meal i t'arinaceus i to be edible. Avoid the green-gilled I^epiot-a. 

 Avoid those with a milky juice until you know a great deal about 

 them. 



Try the large white forms which grow on tree-trunks, Plewrotus 

 ostreatus, sapidus and uhnarius. Try the meadow, field and street 

 mushrooms: Psalliota campestris, arvensis and rodmani. Try the 

 inky caps, Coprinus rmcaceus, atramentarius and comatus. From 

 the woods, always after a thorough study, try Bussula virescens, 

 Hygrophorus ru.ssulu, Tricholoma personatum and nudum, llj/t/ro- 

 phorus 8ordidu8 and Tricholoma resplendens are two white mush- 

 rooms of excellent flavor, but beware of mixing them with the 

 white Amanita. If you live among evergreen woods try Cortinarnu 

 violaceu8 } if in southern Michigan Cori inarius michiganensis. 

 After a start is made, others, one at a time, should lie thoroughly 

 studied until finally every trip will yield a meal. 



My advice to all beginners and amateurs is: <'<>llt<l and Study 

 the deadly Amanitas first. I have found many people who had 

 known and eaten a few kinds for a long time, who were entirely 

 Ignorant of any Amanita; such people arc always in danger in 

 spite of ami often because of their self-confidence. Fatal poisoning 

 does not infrequently occur to just such ] pic 



The specimens should in all cases he carefully gone over again 



before looking. An excess supply can be kept on ice for ,i day Only. 

 Samples from the basket ran he laid overnight with gills down on 

 3 



